Author's Note: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank those who have
left reviews and those who have e-mailed. Nikki, .:Nichol:., Lady Adyra,
Abs, and especially Diane H. A small group we are, but as I always say
(and graciously gave Meg the line to use;)), "I've always been one for
quality over quantity." Thank you!
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Chapter Seven
As the taxi made its way through Beijing, John and Meg sat silently in the back seat, each intent on their own thoughts. Little did they know they were each thinking about the other. As pleasant a subject as John was, Meg tried to steer her thoughts in a more productive direction.
"Oh," she said, suddenly remembering. "I didn't get a chance to tell you. Mia looks different. You might not recognize her. She has a very short haircut," she demonstrated how short, bringing her hands up to her ears, "dyed a burgundy color. And she's wearing this shimmery blue flower print shirt -."
"With brown pants," John finished. Meg looked at him quizzically. "She was leaving as I arrived. You are right, I didn't recognize her." He paused and shook his head. "A boyfriend." Meg grinned out the side window.
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When the taxi pulled up outside Vogue, John had a conversation with the driver, giving him eight-hundred RMB's and holding another eight-hundred just out of reach. The driver eagerly nodded, obviously agreeing to whatever John had suggested.
"The luggage will stay here. The driver will return in twenty minutes." Meg refused to leave her knapsack, shouldering both straps before exiting the car. John joined her on the curb and they walked to Vogue's entrance.
It was edging towards nine o'clock and the evening crowd was already stretching the capacity of the club. The building itself was beautiful, a mix of ancient and modern. The polished wooden floor was interspersed with carved stone columns reaching to the ceiling two stories above. Multicolored strobe lights threw spasm inducing light patterns everywhere. A black lacquer wood and chrome bar took up almost the entire far wall. Meg studied the bartenders, wondering which one was Liu. Stairs led to a second story loft where people were lounging around on sofas and armchairs, chatting and smoking cigars.
Crystal Method's "Trip Like I Do" was playing at foundation vibrating volume, making speech almost impossible. Meg pointed to herself and then the loft. John nodded and held up both hands, palms towards her, fingers splayed. Ten minutes. Meg nodded back that she understood and proceeded up the steps, maneuvering around necking couples and loitering groups. She made her way to the area of railing overlooking the bar and scanned the seats lined up there. She spotted Mia in under a minute and plopped down next to her on the sofa.
"This seat taken?" Mia looked momentarily startled, but recovered quickly, looking in the direction Meg had come. "He's downstairs," Meg offered. Mia nodded, resigned, and returned her gaze to the bar below.
"Is he angry?" Mia asked. Meg considered, then shook her head.
"I don't think so. Worried, definitely. Upset, some. But not angry. Not at you anyway." Meg followed the direction Mia was looking, but couldn't tell for certain which bartender had her attention. "So which one is Liu?" Mia chucked her chin towards the far left of the bar. An attractive man, if you're into smarmy. He had a goatee, a diamond earring, and slicked back hair. Not promising. Meg wondered what Mia saw in him and hoped he wasn't typical of her taste in men. Crystal Method segued to "Absurd" by Fluke as she waited for Mia to speak again.
"I've been watching."
"Don't you want to talk to him?"
"I did." Meg examined Mia's profile.
"And?"
"He did not recognize me."
"That's understandable, you do look different." Mia shook her head.
"No, that is not what I mean. He didn't know me. He was . . . banging on me," Mia finished after a hesitation. Meg grinned at the misused term.
"You mean 'hitting' on you?" Mia nodded. Meg frowned. She wasn't the least bit surprised, but wanted to be supportive. "Well, he's a bartender, they're expected to flirt with customers." It grated on her nerves to have to make excuses for the man. Fortunately, Mia didn't seem interested in reconciliation and sighed.
"It does not matter. I was foolish." Mia turned to face her. "Have you ever acted foolishly because of a man?" Meg chuckled sardonically and shook her head. Does traveling six-thousand miles and putting myself in mortal danger count? She thought it, but didn't say it. Instead she stood and held out her hand to Mia.
"Come on, let's find your brother and get out of here."
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On the first floor, John was walking slowly through the mass of dancing bodies, scanning the crowd for signs of Mia. So far he hadn't found her and hoped Meg was having better luck. A sudden cold awareness spread through his chest and he looked sharply to his left. There. A man who wasn't dancing, but searching the crowd. John unbuttoned his jacket and pulled one of the Berettas from the shoulder holster, lowering his hand to let the gun dangle unobtrusively at his hip.
John threaded his way through the dancers to the stairs leading to the second floor loft, intending to find Meg and Mia. Another instinctive chill passed over him as he reached the foot of the stairs, sending goose bumps down his arms. A different man was looking right at John, face expressionless. The stranger's hand reached inside his long overcoat and pulled out an H&K SOCOM. John realized the man intended to open fire in a building full of innocent bystanders. He had a sudden flash of a dead woman in a parking garage in Los Angeles.
"No," John whispered under his breath, raising his own gun in the man's direction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meg and Mia reached the landing at the top of the stairs and were about to start down when Meg noticed John at the bottom. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but stopped when she saw him pointing his gun in the direction of the dance floor.
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Several things then happened at once.
John pulled his trigger, hitting the man between the eyes, but as the gun man went down, his finger was convulsively pulling the trigger. Most of the bullets sprayed harmlessly over the crowd, but a few dancers were hit. A riot ensued.
The first man John had seen had pulled out his own H&K and started shooting in John's direction.
Meg pushed Mia and herself flat against the wall, trying to avoid the crush of club goers running up and down the stairs in an attempt to escape the gun fire.
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John ducked into a crouch and ran towards the nearest stone column, standing up behind it for cover. He took a peek around, hoping to get a shot off, but there were still too many people around. He glanced up to the loft and caught sight of Meg and Mia on the landing. Meg was scanning the floor, probably looking for him. She finally spotted him. Their gazes met and held. She nodded faintly and pulled Mia away from the wall and back in the other direction across the loft.
Koy's men couldn't possibly know what Mia looked like and John intended to keep it that way. Meg would keep her safe. The club was clearing out quickly. John had to make his move soon.
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Meg had a hold of Mia's arm and wasn't letting go. There were still a number of stray clubbers running around and she didn't want to get separated. In her search for Mia earlier, she was pretty sure she had seen a fire exit. Sure enough, there it was. It was already open, a stream of people running out.
Meg paused as they reached the door and looked back towards the dance floor. She was worried for John and wanted to help him. But she knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself and needed his sister safely away. Her decision was made for her as they were pushed out the door by people behind them.
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John chanced another look around the column, but the man was no longer there. He scanned the immediate area, but didn't see anyone. The naturally dim interior coupled with the strobing lights kept many areas of the club in darkness. He quickly made his way to another column as "Absurd" blended into Rob D's "Clubbed To Death".
A string of shots struck the column, showering him with bits of stone. John quickly went into a roll and righted himself, one knee on the floor, one knee bent, and gun aiming at the direction the shots had come from. He let loose a round into the shadows and was rewarded with the soft thud of a body hitting the floor and a gun clattering.
John took cover behind another column and considered his options. When he had spoken with Meng earlier, there was mention of four suspicious men in the temple. If these were the same men, that meant there were still two more. His suspicions were confirmed when more shots rang out, leaving smoking holes in the wood floor at his feet. He laid down cover fire and made a beeline for the bar, diving over the shiny black and silver surface. More shots followed him, splintering the wood of the bar and making starburst patterns on the wall length mirror.
He landed hard and rolled over, checking his ammo clip. Empty. He ejected it and slammed another into place as the liquor bottles on the shelves above him exploded, littering the ground with glass and alcohol. He slid around the edge of the bar and slowly looked around the corner, immediately spotting one of the gunmen. John took aim and shot three times in quick succession. Two in the chest, one in the head. He ducked back around the bar as the fourth man opened fire, splintering more wood and scattering more glass.
John's eyes darted along the wall, spotting a door marked "Employee's Only". He got to his knees and shot a few rounds over the bar, then ran in a low crouch for the door, slamming through under another hail of bullets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After descending the fire escape with other club goers, Meg and Mia rounded the corner in the alley and stopped to catch their breath. Meg checked her watch. Jesus, it'd only been fifteen minutes since they'd first walked into the place. Their taxi wouldn't even return for another five minutes.
Meg had to resist the urge to race back into the club to find John. Though they worked well together in shoot outs with bad guys, she knew her priority was to keep Mia safe. Speaking of which, Mia was looking the way they had come, a worried expression on her face.
"Where is John?" she asked.
"He's coming. Soon," Meg answered after a pause, hoping she wasn't lying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John looked at his new surroundings. A long hallway with doors lining each side at regular intervals. Probably offices and storage rooms. At the end of the hallway was the exit. To his right was a flight of stairs leading up. They were at the wrong angle to connect with the loft. He had an idea of where they might lead and started up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meg paced back and forth restlessly, snapping her fingers and clapping her hands. *Snap, clap, snap, clap, snap, clap.* Mia was leaning against the wall with her hands clasped, watching her with concern.
Meg knew she was making Mia nervous, but she couldn't help herself. She checked her watch for the umpteenth time. The five minutes were up. She stood still perfectly still for a moment, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and motioned to Mia. They walked to the front of the building to the waiting taxi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he reached the top of the stairs, it was as he thought. A series of interconnecting catwalks allowed easy access to the lighting fixtures of the club for installation and maintenance. The fourth gunman was slowly making his way towards the bar. John aimed his gun carefully and emptied the entire clip into the man. He turned and retraced his steps back down to the hallway, to the exit door, and out of the building.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meg and Mia sat in the taxi. The driver tapped his fingers on the steering wheel with irritation, but Meg was resolute. They were waiting five more minutes for John. Period. The day seemed to finally take its toll on Mia. She was crying quietly, arms wrapped protectively around her middle. Meg felt a sudden surge of affection for the girl and grasped her hand. Mia looked at her gratefully and tried to smile, the effect just making her look more pitiable.
They both jumped when the door back door suddenly opened and John slid in. Mia gasped in relief and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Meg sincerely wished she could do the same and felt on the verge of tears herself. She met John's eyes over Mia's head, hoping her gaze transmitted how glad she was his ass was still in one piece. Still, she felt she had to say something or burst. She went the witty one liner route.
"I just can't take you anywhere, can I?"
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Disclaimer: Vogue is a real life restaurant/club in Beijing, one of the poshest and most popular. However, I've never been there, so all architectural details are completely made up. Song Credits: -"Trip Like I Do" by Crystal Method from the album 'Vegas' -"Absurd" by Fluke from the 'La Femme Nikita' television soundtrack -"Clubbed To Death" by Rob D from the 'Matrix' movie soundtrack
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Seven
As the taxi made its way through Beijing, John and Meg sat silently in the back seat, each intent on their own thoughts. Little did they know they were each thinking about the other. As pleasant a subject as John was, Meg tried to steer her thoughts in a more productive direction.
"Oh," she said, suddenly remembering. "I didn't get a chance to tell you. Mia looks different. You might not recognize her. She has a very short haircut," she demonstrated how short, bringing her hands up to her ears, "dyed a burgundy color. And she's wearing this shimmery blue flower print shirt -."
"With brown pants," John finished. Meg looked at him quizzically. "She was leaving as I arrived. You are right, I didn't recognize her." He paused and shook his head. "A boyfriend." Meg grinned out the side window.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the taxi pulled up outside Vogue, John had a conversation with the driver, giving him eight-hundred RMB's and holding another eight-hundred just out of reach. The driver eagerly nodded, obviously agreeing to whatever John had suggested.
"The luggage will stay here. The driver will return in twenty minutes." Meg refused to leave her knapsack, shouldering both straps before exiting the car. John joined her on the curb and they walked to Vogue's entrance.
It was edging towards nine o'clock and the evening crowd was already stretching the capacity of the club. The building itself was beautiful, a mix of ancient and modern. The polished wooden floor was interspersed with carved stone columns reaching to the ceiling two stories above. Multicolored strobe lights threw spasm inducing light patterns everywhere. A black lacquer wood and chrome bar took up almost the entire far wall. Meg studied the bartenders, wondering which one was Liu. Stairs led to a second story loft where people were lounging around on sofas and armchairs, chatting and smoking cigars.
Crystal Method's "Trip Like I Do" was playing at foundation vibrating volume, making speech almost impossible. Meg pointed to herself and then the loft. John nodded and held up both hands, palms towards her, fingers splayed. Ten minutes. Meg nodded back that she understood and proceeded up the steps, maneuvering around necking couples and loitering groups. She made her way to the area of railing overlooking the bar and scanned the seats lined up there. She spotted Mia in under a minute and plopped down next to her on the sofa.
"This seat taken?" Mia looked momentarily startled, but recovered quickly, looking in the direction Meg had come. "He's downstairs," Meg offered. Mia nodded, resigned, and returned her gaze to the bar below.
"Is he angry?" Mia asked. Meg considered, then shook her head.
"I don't think so. Worried, definitely. Upset, some. But not angry. Not at you anyway." Meg followed the direction Mia was looking, but couldn't tell for certain which bartender had her attention. "So which one is Liu?" Mia chucked her chin towards the far left of the bar. An attractive man, if you're into smarmy. He had a goatee, a diamond earring, and slicked back hair. Not promising. Meg wondered what Mia saw in him and hoped he wasn't typical of her taste in men. Crystal Method segued to "Absurd" by Fluke as she waited for Mia to speak again.
"I've been watching."
"Don't you want to talk to him?"
"I did." Meg examined Mia's profile.
"And?"
"He did not recognize me."
"That's understandable, you do look different." Mia shook her head.
"No, that is not what I mean. He didn't know me. He was . . . banging on me," Mia finished after a hesitation. Meg grinned at the misused term.
"You mean 'hitting' on you?" Mia nodded. Meg frowned. She wasn't the least bit surprised, but wanted to be supportive. "Well, he's a bartender, they're expected to flirt with customers." It grated on her nerves to have to make excuses for the man. Fortunately, Mia didn't seem interested in reconciliation and sighed.
"It does not matter. I was foolish." Mia turned to face her. "Have you ever acted foolishly because of a man?" Meg chuckled sardonically and shook her head. Does traveling six-thousand miles and putting myself in mortal danger count? She thought it, but didn't say it. Instead she stood and held out her hand to Mia.
"Come on, let's find your brother and get out of here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the first floor, John was walking slowly through the mass of dancing bodies, scanning the crowd for signs of Mia. So far he hadn't found her and hoped Meg was having better luck. A sudden cold awareness spread through his chest and he looked sharply to his left. There. A man who wasn't dancing, but searching the crowd. John unbuttoned his jacket and pulled one of the Berettas from the shoulder holster, lowering his hand to let the gun dangle unobtrusively at his hip.
John threaded his way through the dancers to the stairs leading to the second floor loft, intending to find Meg and Mia. Another instinctive chill passed over him as he reached the foot of the stairs, sending goose bumps down his arms. A different man was looking right at John, face expressionless. The stranger's hand reached inside his long overcoat and pulled out an H&K SOCOM. John realized the man intended to open fire in a building full of innocent bystanders. He had a sudden flash of a dead woman in a parking garage in Los Angeles.
"No," John whispered under his breath, raising his own gun in the man's direction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meg and Mia reached the landing at the top of the stairs and were about to start down when Meg noticed John at the bottom. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but stopped when she saw him pointing his gun in the direction of the dance floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several things then happened at once.
John pulled his trigger, hitting the man between the eyes, but as the gun man went down, his finger was convulsively pulling the trigger. Most of the bullets sprayed harmlessly over the crowd, but a few dancers were hit. A riot ensued.
The first man John had seen had pulled out his own H&K and started shooting in John's direction.
Meg pushed Mia and herself flat against the wall, trying to avoid the crush of club goers running up and down the stairs in an attempt to escape the gun fire.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John ducked into a crouch and ran towards the nearest stone column, standing up behind it for cover. He took a peek around, hoping to get a shot off, but there were still too many people around. He glanced up to the loft and caught sight of Meg and Mia on the landing. Meg was scanning the floor, probably looking for him. She finally spotted him. Their gazes met and held. She nodded faintly and pulled Mia away from the wall and back in the other direction across the loft.
Koy's men couldn't possibly know what Mia looked like and John intended to keep it that way. Meg would keep her safe. The club was clearing out quickly. John had to make his move soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meg had a hold of Mia's arm and wasn't letting go. There were still a number of stray clubbers running around and she didn't want to get separated. In her search for Mia earlier, she was pretty sure she had seen a fire exit. Sure enough, there it was. It was already open, a stream of people running out.
Meg paused as they reached the door and looked back towards the dance floor. She was worried for John and wanted to help him. But she knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself and needed his sister safely away. Her decision was made for her as they were pushed out the door by people behind them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John chanced another look around the column, but the man was no longer there. He scanned the immediate area, but didn't see anyone. The naturally dim interior coupled with the strobing lights kept many areas of the club in darkness. He quickly made his way to another column as "Absurd" blended into Rob D's "Clubbed To Death".
A string of shots struck the column, showering him with bits of stone. John quickly went into a roll and righted himself, one knee on the floor, one knee bent, and gun aiming at the direction the shots had come from. He let loose a round into the shadows and was rewarded with the soft thud of a body hitting the floor and a gun clattering.
John took cover behind another column and considered his options. When he had spoken with Meng earlier, there was mention of four suspicious men in the temple. If these were the same men, that meant there were still two more. His suspicions were confirmed when more shots rang out, leaving smoking holes in the wood floor at his feet. He laid down cover fire and made a beeline for the bar, diving over the shiny black and silver surface. More shots followed him, splintering the wood of the bar and making starburst patterns on the wall length mirror.
He landed hard and rolled over, checking his ammo clip. Empty. He ejected it and slammed another into place as the liquor bottles on the shelves above him exploded, littering the ground with glass and alcohol. He slid around the edge of the bar and slowly looked around the corner, immediately spotting one of the gunmen. John took aim and shot three times in quick succession. Two in the chest, one in the head. He ducked back around the bar as the fourth man opened fire, splintering more wood and scattering more glass.
John's eyes darted along the wall, spotting a door marked "Employee's Only". He got to his knees and shot a few rounds over the bar, then ran in a low crouch for the door, slamming through under another hail of bullets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After descending the fire escape with other club goers, Meg and Mia rounded the corner in the alley and stopped to catch their breath. Meg checked her watch. Jesus, it'd only been fifteen minutes since they'd first walked into the place. Their taxi wouldn't even return for another five minutes.
Meg had to resist the urge to race back into the club to find John. Though they worked well together in shoot outs with bad guys, she knew her priority was to keep Mia safe. Speaking of which, Mia was looking the way they had come, a worried expression on her face.
"Where is John?" she asked.
"He's coming. Soon," Meg answered after a pause, hoping she wasn't lying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John looked at his new surroundings. A long hallway with doors lining each side at regular intervals. Probably offices and storage rooms. At the end of the hallway was the exit. To his right was a flight of stairs leading up. They were at the wrong angle to connect with the loft. He had an idea of where they might lead and started up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meg paced back and forth restlessly, snapping her fingers and clapping her hands. *Snap, clap, snap, clap, snap, clap.* Mia was leaning against the wall with her hands clasped, watching her with concern.
Meg knew she was making Mia nervous, but she couldn't help herself. She checked her watch for the umpteenth time. The five minutes were up. She stood still perfectly still for a moment, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and motioned to Mia. They walked to the front of the building to the waiting taxi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he reached the top of the stairs, it was as he thought. A series of interconnecting catwalks allowed easy access to the lighting fixtures of the club for installation and maintenance. The fourth gunman was slowly making his way towards the bar. John aimed his gun carefully and emptied the entire clip into the man. He turned and retraced his steps back down to the hallway, to the exit door, and out of the building.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meg and Mia sat in the taxi. The driver tapped his fingers on the steering wheel with irritation, but Meg was resolute. They were waiting five more minutes for John. Period. The day seemed to finally take its toll on Mia. She was crying quietly, arms wrapped protectively around her middle. Meg felt a sudden surge of affection for the girl and grasped her hand. Mia looked at her gratefully and tried to smile, the effect just making her look more pitiable.
They both jumped when the door back door suddenly opened and John slid in. Mia gasped in relief and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Meg sincerely wished she could do the same and felt on the verge of tears herself. She met John's eyes over Mia's head, hoping her gaze transmitted how glad she was his ass was still in one piece. Still, she felt she had to say something or burst. She went the witty one liner route.
"I just can't take you anywhere, can I?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: Vogue is a real life restaurant/club in Beijing, one of the poshest and most popular. However, I've never been there, so all architectural details are completely made up. Song Credits: -"Trip Like I Do" by Crystal Method from the album 'Vegas' -"Absurd" by Fluke from the 'La Femme Nikita' television soundtrack -"Clubbed To Death" by Rob D from the 'Matrix' movie soundtrack
